Rhetoric was definitely his strength, but his knowledge and grasp of issues was not minimal. It was a macro view, not fine tuned to details, but his knowledge was not at all lacking.

I think Obama is much the same- he is very intelligent but I don't see signs that he focuses on the details.

Accomplishments in his short term so far include sweeping ethics reform (badly needed in LA), progress on levee construction (on an area of wetland management that's been ignored for decades), innovative school improvements in New Orleans, and resolution (or nearly resolved) issues with rebuilding the badly damaged Charity Hospital in New Orleans.

Try to find the video of his news conference prior to Gustav. It should be a case study in how to handle an impending natural disaster- instead of babbling on or driving up fear, he expressed the potential gravity of the situation but focused on explaining all of the preparations that were being handled- instilling confidence instead of panic.

He's made some enemies too, of course, and things are going to get more challenging for him. Many in the legislature resent his actions on vetoing a pay raise for them (he probably didn't handle that as well as he should have) and he's getting flack from the right wing chattering class who don't think he's conservative enough.

Again, google is your friend. I replied with snark because your comment was dismissive in tone rather than seriously asking what accomplishments he can claim.

Though the guy he supported with Operation Chaos won!

He's a heck of an amateur excorcist. Piyush is just as unusual a name in America as Barack. But in fairness he seems to have done a good job at Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.

Call us quirky, I guess, but actions speak louder than words.